THE establishment of the Department of Rural Development and Land Reform has been long overdue.

For many years, people in rural communities were not only despised but kept from ever participating in the economy of the country.

They were denied basic human needs and rights, such as water, electricity and health, education, while the opposite can only be said of their suburban counterparts.

President Jacob Zuma made this clear during his state of the nation address when he said "for as long as there are rural dwellers unable to make a decent living from the land on which they live, we shall not rest and we dare not falter in our drive to eradicate poverty".

The words echoed by the president did not only signal a new era for our country but gave hope to all those who face the prospects of going to bed on an empty stomach.

Our country is currently divided into three worlds, with one consisting of those who are struggling with obesity, those who have to eat three meals a day in order to survive and those who do not know where to get the next meal.

The Department of Rural Development has already embarked on the process which will ensure that the ills of the past are reversed.

If the private sector can come on board and combine their efforts and skills with the government then the ills, which were created by the intelligent fools of the former apartheid regime, can be reversed.

Mpho Ramokolo, Mokopane